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Chris McNulty
Chris McNulty is a vocalist-composer-educator-author based in NYC for several decades, currently residing just outside Melbourne, Australia.
About Me
Originally hailing from Melbourne Australia, vocalist-composer, Ms Chris McNulty travelled to
NYC in 1988 where she became a fixture on the New York jazz scene for almost three decades
before relocating back to Australia in late 2015.
Her emergence on the international jazz scene began around 1991 with the release of her
critically acclaimed, Waltz for Debby (Discovery). Since then her recordings and performances
have garnered 4 and 5 star reviews in publications including DownBeat, Jazz Times, The Irish
Times, Jazz Wise, All About Jazz, JazzIs and The Australian, among many others. Her 1995
release ‘A Time For Love’ (Amosaya) co-produced with guitarist Peter Leitch featured jazz great,
the late John Hicks. McNulty went on to release several more albums on the Elefant Dreams
label, a record company co-founded with her colleague-partner guitarist, Paul Bollenback. Those
releases, ‘I Remember You’, ‘Dance Delicioso’ and ‘Whispers the Heart’ received universal press
and radio coverage which allowed McNulty to maintain a consistent presence on the
international touring scene, performing at festivals including the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Dundee,
Brecon (UK); Kilkenny (Ireland); Kharkov (Ukraine); Petrozavodsk (Russia); Perth International Jazz
Festival, Wangaratta Jazz and Blues festival, Stonnington, Dunborough Jazz By the Bay and the
Melbourne International Jazz festival (Australia). Among the leading American jazz musicians
McNulty has performed and recorded with are pianists: the late great John Hicks and Mulgrew
Miller as well as John Di Martino and Gary Versace; saxophonists: Gary Bartz, Gary Thomas, the
late Frank Wess; bassists: the late George Mraz, Cecil McBee, Harvie S and long time colleague,
Ugonna Okegwo; drummers: Billy Hart, Matt Wilson, Montez Coleman, Marcus Gilmore, Kenny
Washington and the late Tony Reedus, guitarists Peter Leitch and Paul Bollenback as well as
trumpeter, Ingrid Jensen. Australian musicians Chris currently performs with include: Harry
Mitchell, Nick Abbey, Mike Perkins, Adrian Galante, Pete Jeavons, Darrin Archer, Ben Robertson,
Christopher Hale, Phil Rex, Chris Tarr, Chris Foster, Tom O’Halloran, Daniel Susnjar and Matthew
Lionel Sheens.
Her most recent release ‘Eternal’ (Palmetto 2015) which melds the sounds of chamber ensemble
with jazz quintet is a collaboration with Australian orchestrator Steve Newcomb. ‘Eternal’ placed
#11 on the 80th DownBeat Readers Poll for Album of the Year in 2015. In 2013 Chris was the
recipient of the Australian Jazz Bell award for Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album for ‘The Song
That Sings You Here” (Challenge). On returning to Australia Chris toured the Eternal Chamber
Ensemble nationally including performances at St George’s Cathedral (Perth International Jazz
Festival), Stonnington, Wangaratta International Jazz festival and the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Her book Vocalist As Complete Musician - VCM published in August 2017. VCM was designed
specifically for vocal jazz musicians and explores the use of Tetrachords as a tool for integrating
theory, ear training and improvisation. McNulty was invited to present a clinic on her VCM
method at the 2019 International Jazz Voice Conference (IJVC) held in Helsinki in October 2019.
She continues to present workshops around Australia and internationally.
In late 2018 Chris McNulty was one of six Australian composers announced as recipients of a
2019 Bundanon Trust Prelude Composer Residency award. Her year-long composing project,
carried out at Gallop House in Perth, WA culminated in the completion of a 12-piece suite,
‘Finding Home’ - Bringing musical voice to stories of refugee-immigrants through the lens of their
artists. By layering text and imagery gathered from their stories and art processes Chris weaves
explorations of loss, grief, dislocation, marginalisation, identity and triumph into sonic
composition, lyric and spoken word. The stories of refugee-immigrants expressed through the
voice of their artists resonates powerfully throughout ‘Finding Home’. In giving these stories a
musical life McNulty reveals glimpses of her own journey of 'Finding Home’ after returning to
Australia following the sudden and tragic loss of her son, Sam.
McNulty is currently exploring funding opportunities to allow her to record her 12-piece suite
featuring trio, and woodwind-vocal ensemble. She’s hoping to record and release the music
internationally in late 2022
At the invitation of jazz radio host and director, Mal Stanley McNulty was the featured Artist in
Residence for ABC Jazz, May 2021.
In April - May 2022 McNulty will curate and present the 2nd in her series of ‘An Evening of Vocal
Jazz Artistry’ featuring 14 of Perth’s finest vocal jazz talent collaborating together over a 7-week
period at The Ellington Jazz Club.